Emergent Dimensions of Community-Oriented Policing

Abstract

Community-oriented policing (COP) is arguably the most popular and most misunderstood policing philosophy. Definitional ambiguity contributes to this problem, hampering theoretical development, creative new strategies of implementation, and evidence-based policy. DiMaggio and Powell’s seminal piece on institutional isomorphism provides a framework for understanding the organizational vagueness of COP, including the processes of homogenization of priorities and structures across police organizations. We propose several new dimensions of COP, developed using police mission statements from a nationally representative sample of law enforcement agencies ( N = 2,826). These emergent dimensions (Shallow Community-Oriented Policing, Responsivity, Legitimacy, Constitutionality, and Inclusivity) provide new avenues of theoretical consideration of the COP construct. Exploring these novel elements may strengthen existing community-oriented strategies and encourage creative policy suggestions.

Reappreciating the varieties of police behavior: a national examination of contemporary police mission statements

“…For example, the ubiquitous police slogan of "to protect and serve" conjures up a distinct image of humble bravery. A handful of organizational studies have used mission statements collected from police departments' websites to examine occupational identity, agency focus, espoused mission and community-oriented policing themes (Dario and Crichlow, 2022;DeLone, 2007;Morreale and Lambert, 2009;Patten et al, 2015). The current study added to this understudied area by integrating Wilson's (1968) theoretical framework into the study of police mission statements.…”

“…Our iterative approach was designed to “calculate meaning” in the same way that quantitative work seeks to calculate averages (Saldaña, 2016, p. 9). Across our sampling frame of mission statements, this resulted in 6,266 observations (text segments) within 11 emerging (and non-exclusive) categories taken from Dario and Crichlow (2022). Cases were coded by the third author and a research assistant.…”

“…Mission statements are not necessarily accurate descriptions of what police do, but they do express what police departments want to be perceived as doing by the public. For example, a militaristic style of policing persists (Rios et al, 2020) although themes of community-oriented policing punctuate most police department mission statements (Dario and Crichlow, 2022).…”

“…Our purpose is to create an atmosphere of safety and security in our community. Dario and Crichlow (2022) offer a detailed analysis that concludes that most police departments engage on only a topical level with community-oriented policing. It is clear, however, that the mention of community considerations as a source of organizational focus in police mission statements is widespread.…”

“…For example, a militaristic style of policing persists (Rios et al. , 2020) although themes of community-oriented policing punctuate most police department mission statements (Dario and Crichlow, 2022).…”